Remember
by Love Stained Sleeves
Summary: "I can't make you remember. You have to do that yourself. Think harder, Su. You know this place."


Susan Harrington, formerly Susan Pevensie, passed away this past weekend. She was seventy-six years old and led a long, happy life. She was a loving wife, mother, grandmother, and friend. She will be sorely missed.

That was what the obituary would say. But Susan Harrington was not dead yet. No, she was resting peacefully in her bed. Her daughter, Lucy, watched as Susan's chest slowly rose and fell. Her eyes were attentive as she watched her mother, her stance resembling that of a cat waiting for mice. At each gasp of air that Susan took, Lucy breathed a quick sigh of relief before resuming her watch. It was like a game, one the she was beginning to despise more with each minute that passed. She took one of Susan's wrinkled hands in her own. Lucy would not let her mother go.

And although Susan's body was resting there, her mind was already gone.

She was surrounded by green – green grass, green leaves. But this was different. It was greener than she had ever seen, so green, in fact, that she wasn't even sure that it was. It was as if the color that she had known her entire life had been only an imposter. As soon as she thought it, she knew it to be true.

This place, whatever it was, was real. It was more real than where she had come from. Where was that again? She had already forgotten.

"Susan!" Someone called from behind. She turned around and lost her breath. Running towards her was her kid sister. A giant grin was plastered on her face, her shoes were nowhere in sight.

It was Lucy. Her golden hair cascaded down her back; her brown eyes were as full of life as they were all those years ago.

"Lu? Where are we?" She asked.

"There's no time, Su! You have to come with me. You have to remember." Lucy said as she pulled grabbed her sister's arm and pulled her away. Susan had no idea where they were going, but Lucy ran with purpose. She had so much to ask her sister, so much to say, but she couldn't find the words. While she was still searching for her voice, her sister came to a stop.

They were on a hilltop, and they could see everything. Green fields, grazing animals, and an endless stretch of a blue sky surrounded them. It was all so much more beautiful than she could even have begun to imagine.

"Do you know now?"

There was a nagging feeling in the back of her mind, something telling her that she had been here before. But she couldn't have. No, this was all a dream. It had to be.

Susan shook her head.

"You do! Susan, the Gentle. You taught me how to shoot an arrow here. You taught me how to sit like a lady, how to turn down a suitor without causing a war, how to mind my own business when it came to the 'grown up' stuff." Lucy rolled her eyes at the last one. "You can't forget this." Her voice was only a whisper now.

Susan turned around. There was an apple tree behind them. She leaned against the trunk and tried to think. Surely, Lucy was talking about the game that they used to play when they were children. But that was just it – a game. Susan hadn't thought about that in years. She remembered a castle, and beautiful dresses. The dresses and the parties and her suitors, those were her favorite parts of the game. Peter, she cringed and his name, was always more focused on the battling, and Edmund was just like his older brother.

She shook her head. This was childish. Lucy was terrible for bringing that up.

"No." She said, firmly.

Lucy's eyes began to water. "I don't know what else I can do. You've changed, Susan. I miss you."

Susan's heart ached. All of those years she'd longed to hear her sister's voice, and now she was back to reducing her to tears.

The world around them began to blur. She wasn't ready to leave, not yet. She tried to keep her hold on reality, or whatever this was. Lucy smiled sadly.

"Susan!" Two voices called, but she couldn't tell which direction they came from.

Lucy walked towards her and grabbed her arm. "I can't make you remember. You have to do that yourself. Think harder, Su. You know this place." She pulled her over to the top of the hill, once more. "Look at everything around us."

Susan glanced around once more, soaking everything in. This was important. She could feel it. She closed her eyes and everything came flooding back. Dancing in the ballroom at Cair Paravel, her first kiss under the full moon, the way the cool water lapped at her feet as the sun beat down on her face. Those feelings couldn't be faked. It wasn't just a game that they had played. They'd lived it, they'd lived it all.

Squeezing Lucy's hand, she whispered, "It's home."

Peter and Edmund were at their sides. They stood there for hours, watching the sun set ahead of them, knowing that they would have eternity to bask in each other. But for now, the silence was just what they needed.

Susan Harrington, formerly Susan Pevensie, passed away this past weekend. She was seventy-six years old and led a long, happy life. She was a loving wife, mother, grandmother, and friend. She will be sorely missed.


End file.
